Moore's Law

Gordon Moore, the number of transiters per square inch on an integrated chip doubles every 18
months
Nelson's Law: network connections speeds for high-end users will increase by 50%/year
Bells Law: a new computer class forms roughly each decade
Kryders Law: the storage density on magnetic disks is increasing at an exponential rate.
Metcalf's Law: the value of a network is equal to the square of the number of users connected to
it.
Nonroutine skills: abstract reasoning, system thinking, collaboration, ability to experiment
Information characteristics: Workgroup (dr office), Enterprise (hospital), Inter-enterprise
(healthcare exchange)
Data characteristics: accurate, timely, relevant (to context, to subject), just sufficient, worth the
cost
Digital revolution
the conversion from mechanical and analog devices to digital devices.
Experimentation
a careful and reasoned analysis of an opportunity, envisioning potential products or solutions or
applications of technology and then developing those ideas that seem to have the most
promise, consistent with the resources you have.
Five component framework
the five fundamental components of an information system - present in every information
system from the simplest to the most complex.
Information
1. Knowledge derived from data, where data is defined as recorded facts or figures 2. Data is
presented in a meaningful context 3. Data processed by summing, ordering, averaging,
grouping, comparing, or other similar operations 4. A difference that makes a difference.
INFORMATION ONLY EXISTS IN THE MINDS OF HUMANS
Information age
a period in history where the production, distribution, and control of information is the primary
driver of the economy.
Information system (IS)
a group of hardware, software, data, procedure, and people components that interacts to
produce information
Information technology (IT)
the products, methods inventions, and standards used for the purpose of producing information
Management information systems (MIS)
the management and use of information systems that help organizations achieve their strategies
People
includes those who operate and service the computers, those who maintain the data, those who
support the networks, and those who use the system
Procedures
instructions for humans
Software
instructions for computers
Strong password
a password that is at least 12 characters long; does not contain the user's username, real
name, or company name; does not contain a complete dictionary word in any language; is
different from the user's previous passwords; and contains both upper- and lowercase letters,
numbers, and special characters.
System
a group of components that interacts to achieve some purpose.
Systems thinking
the mental activity of making one or more mdels of the components of a system and connecting
the inputs and outputs among those components into a sensible whole, one that explains the
phenomenon observed.
Technology skill gap
the mismatch between the high level of tech skills demanded by employers and the low level of
skills held by employees
Porters Five Forces
Bargaining power of customers, threat of substitutions, bargaining power of suppliers, threat of
new constraints, rivalry
 
model proposed by Michael Porter, that assesses industry characteristics and profitability by
means of five competitive forces
Competitive Strategies
Cost, differentiation, industry wide, focus
Activities in the value chain / the value chain
nbound logistics, operations/manufacturing, outbound logistics, sales and marketing, and
customer service
Activity
a business function that receives inputs and produces outputs. Can be performed by a human,
computer system, or both
Business process / business system
1. A network of activities that generate value by transforming inputs to outputs 2. A network of
activities, repositories, roles, resources, and flows that interact to achieve some business
function
Business process management (BPM)
a cyclical process for systematically creating, assessing, and altering business processes.
Competitive strategy
the strategy an organization chooses as the way it will succeed in its industry. According to
Porter, there are 4 fundamental competitive strategies: cost leadership across an industry or
within a particular industry segment and product or service differentiation across an industry or
within a particular industry segment
Cost
the cost of a business process is equal to the cost of inputs plus the cost of activities
First mover advantage
the benefit f gaining market share by being the first to develop a new technology in a market
segment.
Linkages
in Porter's model of business activities, interactions across value chain activities.
Margin
the difference between the value that an activity generates and the cost of the activity.
Primary activities
activities that contribute directly to the production, sale, or service of a product. In Porter's
model they are: inbound logistics, operations and manufacturing, outbound logistics, sales and
marketing, and customer service.
Repository
in a business model, a collection of something; for example, a database is a repository
Second mover advantage
the benefit of gaining market share by following a pioneering company into a market segment
and imitating their product or service, thereby reducing costly research and development
expenditures.
Support activities
in Porter's value chain model, the activities that contribute indirectly to value creation:
procurement, technology, human resources, and the firms infrastructure
Switching costs
business strategy of locking in customers by making it difficult or expensive to change to
another product or supplier
Value
as defined by Porter, the amount of money that a customer is willing to pay for a resource,
product, or service.